This invention relates to the manufacture and use of a novel heme supplement for livestock.
The ultimate goal in commercial pork production is to efficiently produce a high quality pork. Efficiency in production is closely related to profitability, i.e. to maximize the difference between the value of the pork (quantity and meat quality) and costs of production (feed, capital, labor, and services).
Feed intake is closely related to growth rate, feed conversion, carcass value and, thus, profitability. Feed intake is affected by a whole range of factors, associated with the animal, such as body weight, sex, and genotype. Feed intake is also affected by the content of the feed (energy density, large nutrient imbalances, freshness, presence of toxins, processing), and various environmental factors.
It is important to develop a feeding program where the animal""s requirements for nutrients are closely met for two primary reasons. First, underfeeding of nutrients will reduce animal performance, carcass value, and profitability. Second, overfeeding of nutrients will unnecessarily increase feeding cost and will not result in any improvement in animal performance. Diets should thus be formulated to meet the unique requirements of various groups of pigs managed under various conditions.
Types of nutrients that should be contained in the animal""s diet include protein, energy, minerals, vitamins, and water. A properly formulated diet contains the amount of each nutrient needed for efficient growth, milk production, pregnancy, or maintenance.
With respect to protein, the animals"" diet must include a sufficient amount to supply the necessary amino acids. Synthetic lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan are common ingredients in swine diets.
The energy in a swine diet is a major factor in all body functions. Metabolizable energy (ME) is the portion of the total energy content (gross energy) that is available for these functions. Pigs use carbohydrates (starch), fat, and protein to meet their ME requirement.
Minerals are also of high importance in swine diets, and are classified as macro- or micro-minerals. Macro-minerals include calcium, phosphorus, and salt while micro-minerals include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, and selenium. Pigs require other minerals, but their levels are usually high enough in typical feed ingredients.
Fat-soluble vitamins required in swine diets are vitamins A, D, E, and K. Water-soluble vitamins required in swine diets include riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, choline, and vitamin B12. All classes of swine require other vitamins, but the levels in common feedstuffs are generally adequate.
Several common feed ingredients do not fit any of the above-referenced groups, but are still important. Whey is a by-product from milk processing used in diets for young pigs. Dried whole whey contains over 60 percent lactose. Also, lactose is an excellent source of energy for pigs after weaning. In addition, fat is often used to increase the energy content of swine feed. Animal fat contains more than twice as much energy as corn.
Another issue related to feeding which has great economic implications is the effect on carcass lean-to-fat ratios. With greater adoption of carcass value-based buying systems, producers are being heavily docked for below average lean percentages and rewarded for leaner animals. Some packers are calling for producers to change their diets, especially to remove added fat, in order to reduce carcass fat. Any such decision is necessarily based on the net effects of reduced dietary fat on growth, feed costs per pound of gain and sale price.
The amount and quality of feed which pigs consume depends largely upon the animal""s stage of life. For instance, young pigs need to have fresh food available to them ad libitum. Weaning pigs have a small stomach which limits the amount they can eat, and therefore require a high quality diet.
Pigs weighing 40 to 125 pounds (18.2 to 56.8 kg) and/or about nine weeks of age are referred to as growing pigs. Most pigs, depending on genotype, can be fed ad libitum to this age or weight. From 125 pounds (56.8 kg) to market weight (about 230 pounds, or 104.5 kg) pigs are referred to as finishing pigs. As a pig grows, the total amount of dietary protein it needs each day also increases. Pigs should be switched from the grower (nutrient dense/more protein) to the finisher (less dense) diet when they weigh about 125 pounds (56.8 kg).
The finishing stage of feed consumption offers the greatest opportunity for improving feed efficiency and savings. The major feeding decisions involve selecting the most economical energy sources and matching nutrient content with actual feed intake and genetic potential for lean growth. The goal is to reduce feed costs per pound of gain while maintaining rapid daily gains and acceptable carcass quality.
In growing pigs, up to approximately 110 pounds (50 kg) live body weight, energy intake generally limits lean growth. In these pigs, the daily energy intake should be maximized. In contrast, finishing pigs, especially those with medium or unimproved lean growth potentials and consuming large quantities of feed, consume more energy than what is required for lean growth. In these pigs excessive body fat is deposited and as a result, carcass value is reduced. In finishing pigs with unimproved or average lean growth potentials, carcass value and feed efficiency can be improved by restricting the daily energy intake.
An obvious means of restricting the daily energy intake of finishing pigs and other livestock is to physically restrict the amount of feed consumed by the animals. This method presents difficulties, however, due to the time and expense required in monitoring each animal""s feed consumption. There is also the risk that the animal will fail to consume the requisite amount of nutrients.
The addition of fat to finisher diets reduces the pounds of feed consumed per day. However, while adding fat to the animals"" diets improves feed conversion, it often results in increased backfat.
Increasing the amount of protein in the diet reduces the amount of feed required per pound of gain. However, the addition of protein to the diet substantially increases the cost of the animal feed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a means of economically limiting the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock.
A further object of the invention is to provide a means of limiting the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock while providing the animal an ad libitum diet.
A further object of the invention is to provide a means of limiting the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock which provides a healthy diet for the animal with the requisite amount of vitamins and nutrients.
A further object of the invention is to provide a means of limiting the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock which is economical and easy to use.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a means of limiting the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock which provides a low percentage of carcass fat and a relatively high lean percentage.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a means of limiting the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock which provides the animals the requisite levels of nutrients and energy requirements.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a means of improving meat color and reducing drip loss during cooking of the meat of finishing pigs and other livestock.
These and other objectives will become clear from the following detailed description of the invention.
This invention provides for the first time a heme-containing animal supplement that limits the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs and other livestock. According to the present invention, blood (porcine, bovine, ovine, equine, or avian) is collected and separated into red blood cells and plasma. The red blood cells are then optionally hydrolyzed to separate the heme from the globin. The resulting heme component, with or without the globin, is then preferably concentrated and dried.
The product of the invention may be added to animal feed as a supplement. Animals treated with the heme supplement experience a significant decrease in average daily gain and average daily feed intake. The use of the heme supplement further decreases feed costs/pound of animal gain while maintaining rapid daily gains and acceptable carcass quality. Further, the heme supplement has been shown to improve animal meat quality factors, including meat color and drip loss.
According to the present invention, heme obtained from animal sources is concentrated and fed with other feed ingredients to animals such as pigs and calves. Any animal in which it is desirable to decrease growth and feed intake can be fed the composition according to this invention. This includes but is not limited to cats, dogs, calves, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, horses, goats, or aquaculture.
The heme is obtained by collecting blood from animals. The blood from any red blooded animal (i.e. porcine, bovine, ovine, equine, avian, etc.) can be used to practice the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the animal is a livestock animal which is slaughtered for its meat product. The blood, which is traditionally discarded or dried and processed as blood meal, may then be used for preparation of the compositions and implementation of methods of this invention. In a most preferred embodiment, the blood is collected from pigs or cattle.
Generally, according to the invention, blood is collected, preferably at slaughter plants. In one embodiment, the blood may be held in a circulating stainless steel tank with anticoagulants such as sodium citrate or sodium phosphate to prevent clotting.
Typically, the whole blood is then separated, preferably by centrifugation, although any other separation method may be used, into two parts, the red blood cells with other cellular components and the plasma and other cellular components. Separation of red blood cells from plasma are methods known and commonly practiced by those of skill in the art. After separation, the red blood cells may be stored in an insulated tank until ready to further process.
The red blood cells are then optionally hydrolyzed to separate the heme from the globin. Hydrolysis procedures are well known in the art and generally involve enzymatic digestion. Other appropriate hydrolysis methods/agents include enzymes, acids, alkalines, and proteolytic preparations. A preferred method of hydrolyzing red blood cells involves the use of alkaline proteases or papain. The heme and globin are then separated using conventional separation equipment. Generally, this procedure includes filtration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, centrifugation, fluid bed, and precipitation. In the alternative, unseparated red blood cells may proceed directly to the next processing step.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9csubstantially purified hemexe2x80x9d is intended to encompass whole red blood cells and/or the heme component of red blood cells separated from the globin component. The substantially purified heme of this invention is removed from its natural environment, isolated or separated, and is at least 60% free, preferably 75% free, and most preferably 90% free from other blood components with which it is naturally associated. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9csubstantially free of other blood componentsxe2x80x9d refers to the fact that the heme supplement does not contain sufficient amounts of plasma, white blood cells or platelets so as to interfere with the effectiveness of the heme supplement for its disclosed purpose.
Similarly, the term xe2x80x9csubstantially free of globinxe2x80x9d refers to the heme component from red blood cells that is at least 60% free, preferably 75% free, and most preferably 90% free from the globin component.
The substantially purified heme, either separated or unseparated from the globin, may then be further concentrated, preferably by evaporation. The concentrated heme has a preferred solids concentration of at least about 10% by weight, with between about 10% to 30% solids content being most preferred. The concentrated product is next dried in a manner so as to maintain the structural integrity of the compound. Such drying methods include, but are not limited to, spray drying, vacuum drying, and freeze drying. The dried heme product has a preferred moisture content of less than about 10%, with about 4-7% being preferred. If spray-drying is employed, it should occur at temperatures low enough to prevent the complete denaturation of the heme, but high enough to eliminate bacterial and viral contamination. Traditionally, a drier inlet temperature of approximately 220-300xc2x0 C., and an outlet temperature from the drier of about 85-110xc2x0 C. will accomplish this objective. The resulting heme powder will have a particle size of about 5 to about 65 microns.
A preferred spray-dried heme product for use in this invention is manufactured by APC, Inc., and is sold under the brand name AP 301. The process for manufacturing AP 301 is as follows. First, red blood cells are chilled and received by a tanker following separation from the plasma. The red blood cells are then pumped to a holding silo. The red blood cells are next pumped into a dryer wherein they are spray-dried to a moisture content of no greater than 9% by weight.
The resulting heme substance may then be combined with other feed ingredients for any desired feeding regime. The diets consist primarily of processed grains (corn, wheat, barley, rice, etc.), gelatinized starches, milk products (dried skim milk, dried whey, lactose, dried whey protein concentrate, casein, etc.), sugars (dextrose, glucose, sucrose,), fats and/or oils (lard, grease, vegetable oils, coconut oil, etc), animal proteins (fishmeal, bloodmeal, meat meal, etc.), and refined, extruded soybeans (soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate). The amount of the heme supplement is an amount at which the decreased average daily gain occurs. The heme supplement preferably comprises from greater than 0 to about 10% by weight of the base feed, and most preferably greater than 0 to about 5% by weight of the base feed.
Further, because the pig is an analogous gastrointestinal model for the human infant, it is anticipated that the present invention can also be used in conjunction with human supplementation.